The Kosher Bookworm: Sefer Tehillim (Psalms)

A tribute on the Yahrtzeit of King David

By Alan Jay Gerber

Issue of May 29, 2009 / 6 Sivan 5769

In the introduction to his classic translation of the Psalms, Rabbi Avraham Davis stated the following: “In the Pentateuch and the prophetic writings, God speaks to man. In Sefer Tehillim, man addresses God. In the other sacred books, God reaches out to His people through His prophets, to draw them near to Him. In Sefer Tehillim, man’s soul reaches out to God in a constant search for knowledge and nearness to Him... God does not speak to man but speaks within man.

“Of all the books of the Holy Scripture, except for the Five Books of Moses, Sefer Tehillim has the greatest influence upon the development of the Jewish mind and spirit. It has truly become the book of the people, many of whom recite its chapters with a frequency and fluency that no other sacred book is accorded. It enjoys this popularity because we identify ourselves with the problems and yearnings portrayed in it. We draw strength, comfort, and security from its words.”

In light of Rabbi Davis’s profound words, I wish to dedicate this review to King David, of blessed memory, author of the Psalms, who passed away on Shavuot.

Among the most popular is Psalm 145, commonly known as Ashrei. In his commentary on Psalms, Rabbi Martin Shmuel Cohen noted the uniqueness of this Psalm: “Indeed, no other Psalm has more references in it to people speaking. One generation is portrayed as speaking to the next. The poet is portrayed as talking to his listeners. Unidentified others are said to be telling and retelling the glory of God. The pious bless God in the presence of the less pious. All God’s creatures proclaim the goodness of their Maker and speak openly of the divine splendor of divine majesty.”

Continuing the theme set by Rabbi Davis, we see an eloquent dialogue between the worshiper and his Maker in the Ashrei Psalm.

Recently, a book was brought to my attention by a haskama from Rav Avigdar Nebenzahl, the Rav HaRashi of the Old City of Jerusalem, entitled “Ashrei: Its Majesty and Significance” (Judaica Press, 2008). Its author, Rabbi Asher Baruch Wegbreit, composed a book, in a compact format, that for the first time utilizes the commentary of the Malbim, thus giving the book a unified and comprehensive picture of Ashrei as a work of deep devotion and prayer.

Rabbi Wegbreit, a New York native with a PhD in Organizational Psychology from Claremont Graduate School, expanded upon the Malbim’s commentary to demonstrate the contemporary relevance of the text so as to  strengthen our faith and spiritual resolve through the utilization of this prayer. In this he admirably succeeded.

Each verse in this Psalm is treated as a separate chapter that is organized to help explain the literal meaning, the p’shat, and the drash. For each verse there is a summary section and a brief integrated translation that blends the ideas discussed in the main section with the literal translation.

This popular Psalm, though frequently recited, is, to the consternation of the author, “davened” in a rushed and hurried manner that prevents its true appreciation by most worshipers. The intention of this book to help the worshiper better understand a Psalm that is meant to serve as a major touchstone of the morning and afternoon services.

In addition to the daily service, Ashrei is the opening prayer to all Selichot services. In fact, one particular verse, “karov Hashem l’chol kor’av” (Hashem is close to all who call to Him) relates directly to the concept of Teshuvah (repentance). Built into this verse is the concept of coming nearer to G-d, as seen from a thematically related verse (Isaiah 55:6), “dirshu Hashem be-himatz’oh, kera’uhu bih’yoto karov,” (Seek out G-d when He might be found, call out to Him when He is near. Both these verses are common to many of the works dealing with Teshuvah and mussar.

Rabbi Wegbreit extends the meaning of this verse in the following manner:

“A close relationship with the Master of the universe through prayer is available to all. However, this closeness is only available to all who call upon Him with sincerity. This means that to be close to Hashem, we must pray using an undivided heart. There must be a consistency between the expressed words of our prayers and our inner feelings and intentions."

“A person whose words are not matched by inner feeling is not expressing interest in being close to Whom he prays. It’s only natural that such a person will not experience intimacy with Hashem, because the relationship that Hashem offers to us is reciprocal”.

This commentary places the entire book of Psalms into its proper perspective. It goes back to the original theme set out in the introductory remarks. This, as well as the other Psalms, represents us, as the worshipers, talking to our Creator, generating a conversation we call prayer.

King David, according to tradition, composed a masterpiece of liturgy in the Psalms, and we pause this Shavuot, his Yahrtzeit, to gain a deeper appreciation of his work.

Rabbi Wegbreit has written a beautiful and meaningful contribution to improve our understanding of Tehillim. Lucky is his yeshiva, Bircas HaTorah, where he teaches mussar, and its Rosh Yeshiva, HaRav Shimon Green for having nurtured and supported this valued talent in service to all of Klal Yisrael.

I look forward to other works by Rabbi Wegbreit, including his plans to write a commentary on the Aleinu prayer and Tehillim 22 based upon the Malbim. I further encourage him to consider a larger work to include all the Psalms that are found in the daily, Shabbat and Yom Tov services and even more daring, a translation of Rav Kook’s commentary, Olat Re’iyah on these same Psalms as found in the Siddur.

With the Shavuot holiday upon us, the concept of the weekly study of Torah was recently enhanced with the republication of a revised edition of Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky’s famed “Parsha Parables Anthology” (Feldheim, 2008) in three volumes. Rabbi Kamenetzky, known to us as the Dean of Yeshiva Toras Chaim in Hewlett, is a veritable source of Torah information who is frequently called upon in the community to give shiurim on the parsha.

Son to one of the founding fathers of our Kehillah here on Long Island’s South Shore, Rav Binyamin Kamenetzky, the eldest son to the revered gaon, HaRav Yaakov Kamenetzky zt’’l, Rabbi Mordechai  Kamenetzky draws upon the sacred tradition of previous generations of maggidim who utilize stories, mesholim and parables as tools to enhance the study of Torah. The rabbi has the enviable talent of having the ability to speak as well as he writes and to write as well as he speaks.

The third volume has a section dealing with Shavuot. Taken together with Parshat Yisro and the story of Har Sinai in the first volume, you will be amply equipped with Divrei Torah for the Yom Tov table.

Enjoy these valued seforim and enjoy the cheese cake, in moderation.

Chag Sameach from the Kosher Bookworm.